


You're the Dream I Had Just Before I Woke Up

by Ithinkwehaveanemergency



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Fluff, Grief/Mourning, Loss, Loss of Parent(s), M/M, Minor Character Death, Past Character Death, Sad with a Happy Ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-07
Updated: 2018-12-07
Packaged: 2019-09-13 07:44:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16888464
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ithinkwehaveanemergency/pseuds/Ithinkwehaveanemergency
Summary: In, a world where Theo's heart condition was remedied in a different but still tragic way, he moves back to Beacon Hills, 22 and alone.Except for his dog, Buddha, who helps him make a friend.





	You're the Dream I Had Just Before I Woke Up

**Author's Note:**

  * For [manonlemelon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/manonlemelon/gifts).



> Title from The Boxer Rebellion

“Buddha, come on.”

 

Theo tugs on the leash lightly, the small leather harness straining weakly against the puppy's furry folds of skin, but the five-month-old Shar Pei continues sitting on his butt and sniffing at the bushes.

 

He's had the dog for two months now, brought him here from Boston when he'd moved just six weeks ago.

 

“Buddha!”  Theo tries again without tugging on the leash at all, but using more of a firm scolding tone.

 

Theo sighs and zips his puffy Adidas down jacket up a little more to protect himself from the wind.  He doesn't remember California being so windy. But then again. He's been in Boston so long he doesn't remember anything between snow and painful humidity.

 

He looks around at the trees and surrounding hills, barely visible through overcast haze.

 

He wonders for the hundredth time in a quarter the amount of days what he's doing back in Beacon Hills after all this time.

 

His dad had specifically stated in his will that the house in Beacon Hills was to go to him, but he can't figure out why he felt so obligated to coming back here and living in their old family home. Theo didn't even know his father had kept it.

 

Apparently he couldn't let go as easily as Theo had.

 

This strange little town was part of a painful past.  When Theo was only ten years old, his mother and older sister had said gone out to the city for last minute Christmas shopping and were in a tragic accident on the way back.  Theo's mother was killed instantly and his older sister was left in a coma, later to be pronounced brain dead while he and he father sat by her bedside on Christmas Eve.

 

Theo was no stranger to that.  He'd spent a couple of major holidays and a birthday in the hospital up to that point, due to his heart condition.  The only difference was that he was the one in the bed, and his mother and sister were there holding his hand every step if the way.  

 

A lot about the next month was a blur for Theo, since he was so young when it happened.  He remembered his Father having a hard time and then the Doctors explaining to him that his sister hadn't passed like his mother, but that she would soon.  He remembered them saying that when it happened, he could say his goodbyes, but then he would be be going to surgery too because his sister was going to give him her heart now that she was moving on past this life.

 

Theo remembers being frustrated as he recovered at home, his grandmother taking care of him.  He was lost for how to feel… because he'd understood the concept of death, he knew it would probably happen to him and most of the time had thought, “why me?” as he mulled along through doctors visits.  He'd never realized what it would be like to be on the other side. He never thought about the possibility that he’d watch his family die instead.

 

He never thought he'd attend her sisters funeral in a temporary wheelchair, while  her heart, strong as ever, beat inside his chest, where it would for years to come.

 

But a month later, he and his father packed up and left Beacon Hills to move close to his grandmother's house.  They lived in Arizona for eight years. Enough time for Theo to go through physical therapy and fanily therapy. Enough time to grow healthy, even enough to play sports.  Theo found himself making his high school baseball team and getting a scholarship to play in college in Boston. He also majored in genetics and biology, fascinated by his paternally inherited heart issues and all medicine and sciences that came into play in the events of his childhood.

 

Theo had played three years of college baseball and completed all the courses he needed to graduate and everything was lining up in life.

 

And then his his dad, who was living and working in New York (a conscious effort to be close to his son) had his second heart attack.

 

One month later, Theo was standing in that same Beacon Hills Cemetary, at another funeral, a smaller one this time, the small puppy Theo had told his dad to buy just four and a half months ago whining by his side.

 

Another month after that, Theo was moving into a house that hadn't been lived in in over a decade, but was somehow still ripe with memories from a family he once had.

 

Theo figures maybe that's why he's here.  He knows that his dad would have wanted him to feel close to the family that had all been there for him as long as they were able, instead of pushing it all away into the far reaches of his memory.

 

Theo’s just sad his dad couldn't be here with him to remember all the little things that come back to him as he gets used to the town again.  As he walks the halls of the mostly empty house.

 

Theo's been trying to get by on his own as best he can, taking care of his dad, like he's the one who needed Theo, not the other way around.

 

But now that he's here, trying to live as much of a life as he can in honor of all of the people they lost, not sure he can do it without his father by his side.

 

“Buddha, what?”  Theo hisses as the mid sized puppy scampers off clumsily down the street in the direction of a jogger coming straight for them.  “Buddha, no. Calm down, buddy.”

 

Theo gets the shar pei to halt in his tracks, but he's straining against the harness and whining in the direction of the slowing jogger.

 

“Hey there buddy.”  The young man pulls out his ear buds out and crouched down level with the dog.

 

He looks up at Theo and flashes a dopey smile, but Theo is too busy staring at his bright eyes that look unnaturally like azurite stones to hear what the young man was asking.

 

“Sorry, what?”  Theo asks, shaking his head.

 

The guy laughs and it's just as dorky as his smile.

 

Theo kind of thinks he wants to stop the embarrassing noise with his own mouth.

 

“I asked if it was cool to pet your dog.”  The blue-eyed runner says, already putting his hand out for Buddha to sniff.

 

“Yeah, yeah.”  Theo nods at the man.  “This is Buddha. I've never seen him so interested in someone before.”

 

“I'm Liam.  And I'm great with animals.”  The guy, Liam, laughs. Buddha all but gets into his lap as Liam scoots closer and drops to his knees.  “Or you just smell that I work at the animal clinic, don't you, little buddy?”

 

“You do?  That's really awesome.”  Theo says then cringes at how lame he sounds.  He smiles weakly at Liam, switches the leas to his left hand and holds his right out to introduce himself.  “I'm Theo. It's nice to meet you.”

 

“Likewise.”  Liam stands as he shakes Theo's hand.  Buddha doesn't stop falling all over himself to get Liam's attention.  Liam makes an aborted hiss sound with his mouth and snaps above the puppies head and Buddha calms instantly, sitting like a well behaved dog.

 

“Any tips on how to get him to listen to me like that?”  Theo laughs, amazed.

 

Liam smiles up at him sheepishly.

 

“It's just a thing… it's complicated.  But yeah, I actually give training lessons for all age dogs.  So I can help with this little guy. On the house.” Liam shakes his head when Theo tries to protest.  “Consider it a welcome to the neighborhood gift. You just moved into the house on Sycamore, yeah?”

 

Theo squints critically at the amount of attention the kid pays to the neighborhood, but maybe it's just a smaller town than Theo remembers.

 

“Don't worry, I'm not stalking you.”  Liam huffs out with a smirk and sticks his hands in his pockets.  “I live with my friends just around the corner, two houses down. We saw your moving truck a couple weeks back.  Wanna walk back together?

 

Theo narrows his eyes but smiles at the handsome kid.

 

“Well, if it'll get Buddha to actually do what I say, then sure.”

 

Liam laughs, even dorkier than before, and Theo turns and leads the way, Buddha following obediently between them as the sun starts to set over the clouded hills.

 

*****

 

“So, I didn't know this house was even up for sale.”  Liam says as he sips coffee from a generic red mug.

 

Theo hadn't brought his dad's dinnerware from New York, just some of the tables and couches, as well as boxes of thing that hadn't been touched since Arizona or possibly even before.  Theo had just shown up to a mostly empty shell of a home and bought all new bedroom and kitchen furniture, touching his inheritance and life insurance money for the first time, and not even making a dent.

 

“There was a kid who lived here when I was little…” Liam starts.  Theo tenses beside him where he's getting food out for Buddha's dinner.  “We were in a 3rd and 4th grade combination class together at St. Jude's the year before he moved away.  It was… He was a really cool kid. Sort of a rebel, really outspoken and funny for his age. He once punched a 6th grader right in the face for tripping my friend Scott.”

 

Theo's chest tightens.  He doesn't remember a Liam from his 4th grade class, but the kid is clearly talking about Theo.  There's no way he would know about Stiles otherwise. Theo has thought about reaching out to the Sheriff to see if Stiles still lives in Beacon Hills.  He probably doesn't. Theo puts the food out and calls Buddha, but he doesnt turn to look at Liam.

 

“I worshipped that kid.  He was fucking dying. Our friend Scott told me that.  He should've been scared and yet he just seemed to be the scariest kid in school instead.”  Liam sighs and his voice gets softer as he goes on. Theo gets small flickers of memory of a really tiny kid that used to hang around Scott and Stiles when they were all kids.  Theo thinks his name was Willam, but he can't be sure he's thinking of the right kid. “But then some bad stuff happened. A lot of really bad stuff happens in Beacon Hills, but this was…”

 

Theo schools his expression into a casual one and looks up at Liam.

 

Liam is looking back at him intently, and Theo knows he's figured it out.

 

“I'm guessing you stopped going by Teddy around then.”  Liam says, his voice barely above a whisper. Theo broadens his shoulders and quirks his mouth up in a sad half smile.  Liam's face falls and he looks like Theo's just punched the air out of him. Almost like he'd been hoping he was wrong about who Theo really was.  “Theo, Jesus. I never thought… I honestly thought you had…  _ God _ , I'm sorry about your dad, my mom, she went to the funeral.  She went to your mom and sister’s too, back then. She was your sister's teacher at the time, Mrs. Geyer?”

 

Theo nods and looks down at his own coffee, cooling in front of the seat next to Liam.  He remembers Mrs. Geyer. He remembers her and the Sheriff of Beacon Hills, Stiles’ dad, being the only people at his father's funeral.  They hadn't said anything to him, but in their defense, Theo wasn't putting up a very welcoming front that day.

 

“I'm sorry I don't remember you.”  Theo shrugs, for lack of better response.  This whole situation is awkward, but it feels strangely like a huge weight has been lifted.  Like a band-aid was just ripped off. Everywhere he's gone, his whole life, he's made friends easily with his sarcasm and wit as a defense and ice breaker, and then it's like he's tense the whole relationship, just waiting for when he'll have to let the person or people know that his mom and sister died in an awful accident and that his late sister's heart is the only reason he's even alive.  Sometimes it was a matter or days, occasionally even weeks, but with this kid, Liam…

 

He already knows.

 

And it feels good, actually, even though his heart hurts as the memories surround him.

 

Buddha is whining beside him suddenly, pawing gently at his leg, like he can sense Theo's pain.

 

“He wants you to pick him up.”  Liam laughs softly and it's a welcome sound.  Theo looks at him confused, because Buddha has never been very affectionate with Theo.  Liam nods for Theo to pick the larger-than-lap-sized dog up, so Theo does so with a incredulous laugh and places the puppy on his legs.  Buddha rubs his face against Theo's neck and licks his chin aggressively until Liam says a quick hiss of his name, at which the dog settles down quietly in Theo's lap.  “Dogs are empathic. Shar Peis typically aren't, but I think he could sense you were letting your guard down. You're letting yourself be sad, and he wants to be there for you for that.”

 

Theo arches an eyebrow suspiciously at his guest.

 

“You're very candid.  You know that?”

 

Liam laughs again and Theo notices his eyes have gone glassy and red.

 

“I'm not usually. I swear!”  Liam wipes his eyes and shakes his head.  He sips his coffee again and nods before looking up at Theo with a shy smile.  “I just am really glad to see you. It's hard to explain, but like… you were really really important to me as a kid.  You were like… my idol. And I guess I'm just…”

 

Liam pauses and sniffs, looking down at his coffee again.

 

“I'm glad you're alive, man.  When my told me… holy crap. I'm just really glad you're here.”

 

Theo strokes Buddha's warm coat and thinks about Liam's words, thinks about all the people he left behind in Beacon Hills and never thought of again, because it hurt too much.  He hadn't ever had to consider anything but moving on and away from this strange little town.

 

“You know Liam, I wasn't sure at first, but I'm kind of glad I'm here too.”  Theo sighs. His voice isn't quite happy, but he has a strong feeling that Liam will know he's telling the truth.

 

“So you're staying a while?  Long enough to maybe get dinner with me sometime?”

 

When Theo looks up at Liam, there's a shining hope in his gaze and it makes Theo's chest squeeze, in a different way this time.

 

“For the foreseeable future, it seems.”  Theo grins. “I think Buddha wants to see more of you.”

 

“Maybe it was destiny, then?”  Liam grins back. “That I just happen to have a connection with your dog?”

 

Theo scoffs and gives Liam a look of disbelief.

 

“Or you cheated because you're a werewolf and he literally  _ has _ to listen to you.”

 

Theo laughs as Liam’s jaw drops in shock and confusion fits over is face as he visibly scents the air.

 

“Okay, well if I wasn't sure before, I am now.”  Theo rolls his eyes and laughs at the werewolf sitting in his kitchen.  “We had those in New England, too, you know? Maine, specifically like is 50% werewolves or something like that, I swear.”

 

Liam is still looking at him with wide, scared eyes.

 

“Calm down.  I'm fine with it.”  Theo stands, grabbing both of their mugs and walking them to the sink.  “Though the last supernatural creature I dated went all murdery on me, so I'm a little weary of kitsunes.”

 

“Oh man, that happened to Scott too!”  Liam barks suddenly then snaps his mouth shut as if unsure if he's supposed to be entertaining this conversation any longer.

 

“So, Scotts… he's like you?”  Theo turns around and crosses his arms, unsure of himself for a moment.  Liam nods at him. “Well, I don't know about jumping into the supernatural world, but I feel like I should have known that's what made this place so weird when I was a kid.  And I’d like to see Scott and Stiles sometime if either of them is around…”

 

Liam is looking at him with renewed hope.

 

“But I think I could at least handle dinner.”  Theo offers with an easy smile.

 

It's worth it when Liam's face lights up in return.

 

Theo thinks for the first time since moving back, that maybe he’s going to be okay here.

 

Maybe he  _ can _ do this without his dad.

 

Maybe he and Buddha won't have to do it alone.


End file.
